Report: Royal Mail should be broken up

16/12/2008

A report into the future of Royal Mail will recommend part-privatisation and wide-spread branch closures, it has been reported.

Unions have already warned up to 50,000 jobs could be at risk and are set to fight any such moves.

The study by Richard Hopper, expected to be made public this week, will show the service struggling with pension debt.

However, a source close to business secretary Peter Mandelson told the Independent, government is not looking at privatisation.

"Our concern is to save the Royal Mail and secure its future, not privatise it," the paper reported the source said.

"We have a manifesto commitment to a publicly-owned Royal Mail and we will not be setting that aside."

The Communications Workers Union is expected to be at the forefront of protests against major restructuring.

It recently rejected calls by Royal Mail management for postal staff to improve efficiency and increase the speed they walked.

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